Table 3.
Clinical services and strategies discontinued and initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fall DocStyles, 2020 (N = 1063).a
| Clinical services and strategies | Provided just before the COVID-19 pandemic |
Discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemicb |
Not provided just before the COVID-19 pandemic |
Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemicc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | n (%) | n | n (%) | |
| LARC placement | 438 | 70 (16.0) | 625 | 18 (2.9) |
| LARC removal | 479 | 80 (16.7) | 584 | 27 (4.6) |
| Telehealth for contraception initiation | 293 | 31 (10.6) | 770 | 331 (43.0) |
| Telehealth for contraception continuation | 313 | 37 (11.8) | 750 | 363 (48.4) |
| Accepted self-report of blood pressure during telehealth visits for contraceptiond | 155 | 41 (26.5) | 188 | 80 (42.6) |
| Renewed contraception prescriptions without requiring an office visit | 584 | 95 (16.3) | 479 | 172 (35.9) |
| Allowed curbside pickup or mail delivery of contraception | 197 | 44 (22.3) | 866 | 161 (18.6) |
| Supported self-administration of subcutaneous injectable contraception | 166 | 51 (30.7) | 897 | 50 (5.6) |
| Counseled on extending use of LARC beyond their FDA-approved duration | 280 | 83 (29.6) | 783 | 77 (9.8) |
| Provided or prescribed emergency contraceptive pills in advance | 359 | 66 (18.4) | 704 | 83 (11.8) |
| Provided or prescribed a year's worth of oral contraceptives | 553 | 72 (13.0) | 510 | 75 (14.7) |
| Sent patient reminders about DMPA injections or LARC removal or replacement | 242 | 49 (20.3) | 821 | 42 (5.1) |
Note: Clinical services and strategies were either provided or not provided just before the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., data in the ‘provided just before the COVID-19 pandemic’ column are mutually exclusive from the data in the ‘not provided just before the COVID-19 pandemic).
DMPA, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; LARC, long-acting reversible contraception, which includes intrauterine devices and implants.
U.S. physicians providing family planning services to at least one female patient of reproductive age per week just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Physicians who reported their practice did not provide the service/did not use the strategy at any point during the pandemic, among those who reported it was provided/used just before the pandemic.
Physicians who reported their practice provided the service/used the strategy at any point during the pandemic, among those who reported it was not provided/used just before the pandemic).
Among those who provided telehealth for contraception initiation or continuation just before the COVID-19 pandemic and at any point during the COVID-19 pandemic.